CS by august?

Question:

happy new year Dr. Louise!

kamusta po? kamusta po ang mga interview ninyo? God be with you always.

friend ko na din po pala si Dr. Randi.

na-kwento ko na po ba? nag-resign na po ako sa St. Luke's before pa mag-start ang residency ko. nag-apply na din po ako ng ECFMG number, pero holiday pa kaya siguro wala pa yun reply nila sa email ko. kaya wala pa din po ako nalalakad sa UST. balak ko po mag-apply sa Kaplan para pressured and guided din ako, para wala din hassle, next week para maka-avail ng discount after ng orientation. nag-start lang ako magbasa ng bulletin of information at booklet ng ECFMG, at first aid ng step 1.

concern ko talaga ay sana makahabol ako sa review and exams for the 2008 match at sana mabigyan ng visa...

may tanong po ulit ako, pag nag step 1 po ako ng april, step 2 CK sana ng july, at CS ng august kasi sabi sa announcement dapat matapos ang CS by august, makakahabol po ba ako at lalabas yun grade for ERAS sa sept, or kahit to follow na yun grade ko? at kung di po ako makahabol, (i'm praying hard na makahabol at maging ok lahat) valid pa po ba yun mga grades ko sa 2009 matching?

thanks po ulit.

God bless you!

Answer:

1. I'm doing fine. Interview wise - hahaha deserves new entry for this. It's a fun experience.

2. I think what the announcement is saying is that you should have scheduled or at least enrolled in CS by august 2007 to assure that you get to schedule your CS for 2007. Most hospitals would prefer that they have your step 1 grade, step 2 ck grade and cs grade, but would interview you even with just any step grade. The key word here is prefer. It's like, imagine if you are entering a contest for miss universe, the judges would interview the contestants in long gowns but would look favorably on contestants who not only have long gowns prepared, but the talent portion and the bathing suit portion... Usually for hospitals, they decide who they want to have as residents by january or february so if you don't have your cs result by jan or feb 2007... good luck na lang. :)

3. Visa - try to follow the schedule i gave you via friendster. The visa support letter from the ECFMG is very important for your visa application. It's a B1/B2 visa you are applying for aka tourist/business. More on visas na lang later. You don't need to concern yourself with this for the moment. Worry about this after you take step 1. I'll try to answer any visa questions you might have if i know the answer.

God bless. You are in my prayers!